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At a work session prior to its last meeting, Stanly County commissioners discussed the board’s election cycle.

Commissioner Peter Asciutto brought up the topic to the board, minus Commissioner Zach Almond, the possibility of changing the cycle of when commissioners are elected.

The change would not take place in the current cycle, Asciutto said, but currently the board is elected on a 5-2 cycle. This means voters choose five commissioners in one cycle and two in the other election two years later.

“Generally, that’s not the best way to have a split,” Asciutto said. He said a better split for a board with seven members like the commissioners would be a 4-3 split.

Any changes would be down the road, Ascuitto said, adding one commissioner would serve six years. He noted the commissioner who would serve six years would be someone other than himself or Scott Efird, who were both elected in 2020.

Asciutto also brought up another point about the election of commissioners, asking whether voters in certain districts should only be able to elect that district’s representative, instead of open voting as the procedure is currently.

Vice Chairman Tommy Jordan said if the election did that, the primaries should be closed, like not allowing Democrats to vote for Republicans. However, Jordan said he “does not have the privilege of just serving my district. I’ve probably (only) had two or three calls from my district. I get phone calls from everyone else’s districts.”

Chairman Bill Lawhon said he had “never asked the people what district they’re in when they call.”

Efird said he would favor a 4-3 election cycle for the board.